Just so you know, I told James that there was someone else today.
That was the last text she had expected to receive, and Penelope frowned as she looked up at Erin. "What is it, Penny?" she asked, resting her hand on her shoulder.
"I, I think that we're headed for that storm that you warned us about. Alex told James that there's someone else. She didn't text me to say if she told him it was me or not, but he has to guess, right? I mean, I've been trying to keep a neutral presence around her, but I feel like that's failed multiple times. At least he didn't catch us kissing. Right? There's still a way to gracefully hand this. Please tell me that there is that small hope."
Erin cocked her head to one side as she pursed her lips. "The friend in me could give you false hope and say that there is a slim chance that you will avoid the blowback from the storm. The realist in me knows that that is an impossibility and that you need to prepare for the worst, because James is going to come after all of us with guns blazing. I know that he's not the happiest with my prolonged stay here, and I hope to rectify that soon enough, but with things still up in the air betwixt David and myself, I don't know for certain when that will be. Because I really want to be with him until the end of my life, but there are still a few things holding me back. He's being patient enough, and I am talking to him as much as possible, but I just cannot commit to physical intimacy with a man yet. It is easy to hold your hand, to hug you, to curl up close to you in sleep, because you haven't hurt me like Jason did. And I know that you never would. I'm not dismissing the fact that there are violent women out there, just that my experiences make me more inclined to trust women physically."
Penelope nodded, knowing that Erin was right in that respect. "This is really going to suck, then, isn't it?"
"Yes, it will. But I know that Alex cares for both of you and will try to mitigate any of the fallout. She's really good at that, you know."
"Strangely enough, I do. There were a number of times that I listened to her talk down an unsub, and she was always better at it then any of the others. That's why she's such a valuable asset to the team. And why I care for her so."
She let out a deep sigh as she heard the door to the garage open, signaling that either Alex or James was home. Penelope didn't know which she would be more unbalanced in seeing in that moment, since there was a good chance that even if it was Alex, she would be unable to control her features enough, and then James would know exactly what was going on between them. To her shock, both James and Alex walked in through the door, and she could feel the tension that radiated off them in waves.
Everything seemed to freeze as James turned his focus onto her, and she shivered a little beneath his gaze. "I gave you permission to kiss my wife, not to fuck her," he spat out, and Penelope shivered as she fell back, feeling like she had been physically pushed. "I should have known that something was up when you insisted on staying here, when it would have been just as easy for you to spend the evenings with Erin before going back to your own apartment. You're an evil, ugly, person, Penelope Garcia."
Those words were enough to make her see red, and she narrowed her eyes as she drew herself up to her full height as she took a few steps forward, knowing that she had to put herself into his space, to make room for herself there, before he pushed her out completely. "That is an awful thing to say to someone, James Blake! Just because you found it easier to deal with your son's death by galivanting around the world trying to save other people's children, leaving Alexandra here alone, dealing with her grief without you, doesn't mean you get to lay the blame on anyone else for the break up of your marriage! You were the one who chose to take the other spare room once we had arrived home, rather than see if your wife was all right! You were the one who's ignored us, avoided us, and made a great breeding ground for contempt in your wife. And if someone stepped in and picked up what you discarded, you shouldn't be angry at me, you should be furious with yourself! And I will thank you to keep your filthy thoughts off of me! I didn't sleep with Alexandra, because I respect marriage vows! So, really, Jimmy, fuck you!"
For a moment there, she thought she had gone too far, as his nostrils flared dangerously as he bent forward, getting closer than necessary as he glared at her. "Whatever kind little lie you want to tell to yourself, just know that it won't cover the truth up for very long. And there will come a day when those sweet little blinders will be torn from your eyes, and you will see yourself for exactly what you are – a whore who can only take and hoard that which is not yours." She recoiled from him, trying to keep her tears in check, not wanting to give him the victory of making her cry, and he shook his head a little in disgust. "I'm spending the night elsewhere. I cannot stand to be here right now."
"James! You take that back!" Alex suddenly interjected, anger on her features as she took a step towards Penelope. He looked at them in disgust, shaking his head a little as he sneered. "Dammit, they are my friends and you have no right to call Penelope names or put on this little display to embarrass me!"
Turning on his heel, James quickly made his way back over to the door without saying another word, slamming it with as much force as he could muster. Penelope jumped a little at that display of violence, and she could see Erin react the same way, true terror written on her face. That seemed to be the catalyst to open the floodgates on her tears, and she burst into sobs as she stepped away from Erin's side, starting to feel sick to her stomach. Giving one, desperate, look to Alex, she turned on her heel and broke into a sprint, heading for the stairs and racing up them before throwing herself onto the bed and allowing herself to sob out her frustrations, not really certain that she would ever be all right again, not when she had just ruined two of the most precious people in her life with her drama. Hugging her pillow tightly to her chest, she buried her face in the other one, hoping that Erin wouldn't mind switching when she came to bed, since she would never allow her to have a soggy pillow. And a part of her hoped that one of them would come up and comfort her, even though she least deserved it in that moment.